Common Mallow (Malva sylvestris) is an attractive woodland species that has been used throughout history in food and medicine. In traditional folk medicine, common mallow was often used for making medicinal poultices and soothing ointments. It was also harvested as a nutritious wild edible, as you will see below.

Family

Botanical Description

Status

Biennial or perennial. Native.

Habitat

Cultivated land, grassland, roadsides, scrub, wasteland

Parts Used For Food

Leaves, flowers, roots and seed or ‘nutlets’.

Harvest Time

Summer.

Food Uses

Common mallow yields disc-shaped seeds, or ‘nutlets’, that are edible and snacked on like ‘cheeses’.1 The leaves can be cooked and eaten like spinach, added to thicken soups,2 or deep-fried like green wafers.3 The flowers and buds can be pickled.4

Nutritional Profile

Common mallow is a highly nutritious green, containing (per 100 g of fresh weight) 4.6 g protein, 1.4 g fat, 24 mg vitamin C, as well as vitamin A and caretonoids.5,6 The fats contain important omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which could help to reduce the incidence of chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.7 The leaves also contain health-giving antioxidants.8 Common mallow is also a good source of dietary fibre.9

Mallow Recipes

Traditional Medicine Uses

Common mallow was once a ‘cure all’ of Medieval herbal medicine. It was used to treat many conditions from stomach ache to problems during childbirth.7 In Britain and Ireland, the plant has been used as a laxative, to cleanse the liver, to cure blood poisoning, and to treat urinary problems, rheumatism, heartburn, coughs and cuts.10,11 The mucilaginous roots in particular were used to make poultices and soothing ointments.12

Other Uses

There are no particular uses for common mallow outside food and medicine, although the pretty flowers can be used for decoration around the home.